


Of Turtles and Bluebirds

by the_riptide_queen



Category: Over the Garden Wall
Genre: F/F, F/M, Post canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-11 05:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5616181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_riptide_queen/pseuds/the_riptide_queen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>GUYS THIS IS MY FIRST OTGW FANFIC! I wrote it with my friend Lily (pearlyoudork on tumblr) and I'm so so so excited about this project. It'll be the story of how wirt, beatrice, sara, jason and lorna all became group that some of you may remember as the squad!!! We'll try to update on somewhat of a schedule, apologies in advance if we take a while to finish a chapter :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strange Encounters with the Lonely Kind

**_Lorna_ **

 

No sleep.

Well, typically, Lorna never really did get a good night's sleep. One could call her an insomniac at times. This, however, was different. Now that she had been relieved of being possessed by the evil spirit, she wanted to leave. To run off and find new things. She wanted to go on an adventure, to sum it up. But deep down, something was stopping her from doing so. She had always been so used to following orders that defying the one main rule placed on her, to never leave the house, sounded crazy. Lorna always obeyed the rules that her aunt, the witch whom she lived with (who in actuality wasn't even related to her), made. But tonight could finally be the night where she tossed the rules aside and explored, and not just within the immediate surroundings of her house.

Lorna peered up into the loft where her aunt slept, checking to see if she was awake. Sure enough, she heard snoring (part of the reason she never got any sleep, to be truthful). The coast was clear, so she made her way to the front door and tiptoed out of the small, stone, cottage as quietly as she could, careful not to wake her aunt. She whispered a quiet goodbye to her turtles, and shut the door behind her as she went into the cool spring night. Though Auntie Whispers had warned her about it, the forest was not as scary as it once had seemed. It seemed more peaceful than scary. The chirping of crickets, the rustling of leaves in the wind, everything was as a forest should be.

Lorna wasn't exactly sure where she had been planning on going, but as she ventured farther and farther away from the house, it was evident that she had no idea where she was. Minutes went by, turning into an hour. It hadn’t been long since she left her aunts home, yet Lorna was already hopelessly lost in the forest that encompassed her home.

The trees all looked the same; for all she knew she could be walking in circles, but she highly doubted it. She did remark many small changes in her surroundings, though. A bird's nest in a tree, a few flowers peeking out here and there, or some odd looking plants were there to reassure her that she was in fact making progress. However, the strangest thing she noticed was, as she pressed on, the forest became less and less dense; the trees were more far apart. At that point it occurred to her that she was not so much going deeper into the woods, but rather exiting them. The stone path she was walking along grew less muddy and moss-covered the light from the moon became brighter, acting almost as a streetlamp of sorts.

It hadn't occurred to Lorna that the forest might end at some point. As she continued on the stone path into the dark, the sound of more footsteps could be heard. Lorna tensed up as she heard the other set of feet come closer to her. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp when she saw a tall figure appear on the path out of the darkness. Lorna had seen a lot of terrifying things in her short life, but at this moment, the most terrifying thing to her was this unknown figure creeping up behind her. Before Lorna has a chance to speak up or run, the figure stepped out into view.

“Oh shit, didn't see you there.” The figure said. It was clearly a girl’s voice.

“Did I scare you?”

Lorna took a second to catch her breath for her heart beat to steady. It wasn't some horrifying beast like she had originally thought it would be , it was just a girl; a really tall girl.

“No...Well, maybe a little.” Lorna admitted

“Ugh, sorry.” The girl apologized. “Um, I'm Beatrice” She said, holding out her hand for Lorna to shake. “And you are?”

“L-Lorna” Said Lorna as she timidly held out her hand.

“Lorna, huh?” Beatrice took the other’s hand and shook it. “Cute name.”

Without much more conversation, they both proceeded along the path. Soon, the minimal amounts of trees turned into less than minimal, and then into none. Entering a clearing, a river was just barely visible in the light of the moon. Beyond that, a wall. A stone wall that stood about nine feet tall and wrapped along for as far as they could see.

“Hmm,” Beatrice mumbled to herself. “I kinda want to check out what's over that wall.”

Lorna stepped closer into the clearing where the light of the moon illuminated everything and gave it all the look of having an element of magic somewhere in it; which, in all honesty, could possibly be true in this scenario.

In order for them to actually get to the wall, they had an obstacle in their way; a river. It wasn't full of rushing, rough water, but it was rather calm. It was deep, though. Lorna couldn't imagine what kind of fish and bugs and animals lived inside, so she decided not to let her mind wander that way. Instead, she peered around in search of a shallower area for them to cross over to the other side. A few feet to the left of where the two girls stood was a small, wooden bridge. It was in tact, but it certainly didn't look sturdy enough to hold the weight of both of them.

“Do you think we could use that bridge to get us across?” Lorna said to Beatrice, pointing towards the bridge in question.

“That rickety old thing?” Beatrice began to walk towards it, followed closely by Lorna. Reaching it, she put one foot onto it and shifted her weight, testing to see if the bridge would collapse. Sure enough, the planks of wood did make a small creak and a couple snaps that were barely noticeable, but the bridge did not show any signs of caving in with only Beatrice on it. With a shrug, she deemed it safe, only if they crossed it one at a time.

Beatrice went across first with ease, in just a couple quick steps she had reached the other side. Lorna, however, was hesitant. What if this was a bad idea? Would it have been better if she had never left her house in the first place?

No, she thought to herself, I'm doing this. There's no turning back now.

Carefully, she took a few slow steps onto the bridge. Then, for fear that she would break the bridge, she scurried quickly across and landed safely into the grass on the other side.

Lorna and Beatrice made their way up the small hill to the tall, stone wall.

“Alright, let's do this!” Beatrice said, clearly showing a good attitude about this. Lorna wondered why she was so eager to see what was over this wall. Was she looking for something on the other side? She did not ask, as it could quite possibly be a personal thing, but rather followed in Beatrice’s footsteps up the side of the wall. Beatrice seemed to be finding her way just fine. She avoided the moss covered, slippery stones and the ones that looked like they would fall out, and stepped onto the ones that stuck out, almost like a footstep. It was no easy task getting up, but once they reached the top, the view made it all worth it.

Thousands of twinkling lights emitting from tall buildings glowed for as far as they could see. The sound of engines rumbling was something they couldn't place, but then again, nothing in this new place was anything that they were familiar with. It was incredible, and the two of them were at a loss for words.

“Where- what is this place?” Lorna asked quietly.

“I don't know, but I like it.” Beatrice replied, a small grin crossing her lips. She grabbed ahold of a tree branch that was sticking up from a tree on this new side of the wall. Then, in one swift movement, she swung herself down and inched her way down the tree trunk. Lorna attempted to do the same, but it was much slower and more cautious. Eventually, she got to where Beatrice was, and was relieved to finally be back on the ground. However, her calm state was momentarily caught off guard when she and Beatrice spotted the three faces staring at them only a few feet away, jaws dropped.


	2. 3:00 AM Happenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 2 AHH
> 
> thanks for the nice comments on tumblr and stuff! hope u guys like this next chapter :)

**_Wirt_ **

 

It was hard, Wirt thought, to have a room right next to your seven year old brother. Even harder when you're trying to sneak out hours past curfew. His brother, Greg, seemed to have a superpower for hearing, but admittedly, the thin walls between the two bedrooms helped him hear his older brother’s every movement; especially at night when the house was silent.

Sneaking out of the house could be much simpler for someone without a sibling. This was why Wirt constantly envied his friends, Sara and Jason, whom didn't have any brothers or sisters. He was the only one out of their group of friends that had a sibling, which made life twice as hard for him. He had to put up with Greg’s shenanigans when their parents weren't around, but deep down, he knew that sometimes Greg could help him out, even if he was only in the second grade.

On this night in particular, Wirt was ready to meet up with his friends. He tiptoed as quietly as possible past his little brothers room, and then past his parents room, careful not to wake any of them. As Wirt got to the back door (thankfully, his house was only one floor), he heard laughter outside.

“Hurry up, slowpoke! What's taking you so long?” Whispered the girl standing outside his back door.

“Shut up, Sara! Not everyone can be an only child like you. Greg could probably hear me.” Wirt shot back, grumbling as he quietly opened the back door and walked out into the night, joining his two friends.

“Wiiiirrrtt, my man!” said the boy next to Sara, Jason, as he swung his arm back in attempt to playfully punch Wirt in the shoulder, only to miss his arm completely and punch him in the eye instead.

“Ow! Goddamn it, Funderberker.” Wirt said, cupping a hand over his eye, all the while careful not to wake anybody back in the house.

“Heh, sorry Wirt.” Jason said with a nervous chuckle.

“So, are we just gonna stand in Wirts’ backyard all night?” Asked Sara as she put an arm around the taller of the two boys.

“No,” Wirt replied, closing the back door, “C-c’mon guys, let's head out.” He said. With that, he and his two friends headed out of his backyard and towards the graveyard.

The graveyard was a place where they would all hang out sometimes. It was typically quiet, as they tried not to go there when there were people there visiting a family member’s grave. Plus, it was nowhere that anyone would think to find them, so it was like their own secret place.

The three friends walked in silence through the dark streets, only the occasional streetlamp lighting their way. It seemed as if they were the only ones on the town. They probably were at this hour, Wirt thought to himself, as it was close to two in the morning. The only sounds that could be heard were the three friend’s footsteps against the concrete, the crickets, and the hum of a car engine in the distance.

Wait, a car engine?

“Shit!” Jason said with a gulp. “It's the cops!”

“Jason, it’s not the fucking cops, just be cool.” Sara rolled her eyes.

As the car in question drew closer, they, especially Jason, were relieved to find that it was not in fact the police, but an old man in a pickup truck driving by the three. Just then, with a sickening thud, the truck ran over something in the road.

“What did he run over?” Wirt cringed, raising an eyebrow.

“Lemme go check, I hope it wasn't an animal or something.” Sara answered worriedly as she ran into the road to see what had been hit with the truck.

“Oh man.” She said with a grimace as she bent down to get a closer look. “It's a turtle. Looks dead too.” Sara sadly looked at the small turtle on the road, it was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and it was a shiny, black colour.

“Wait, let me see!” Jason called out as he joined Sara in the street.

Wirt ran after Jason, not wanting to be left alone on the sidewalk at night. He bent down to look at the turtle and his heart nearly stopped beating. It was a turtle alright. A black turtle, just like the ones he had seen in The Unknown.

He had almost forgotten about the Unknown. The sickening yet incredible forest that every so often lurked back into his memory and sent a little shiver down his spine. The place where everything was connected to everything. It always seemed like a chain reaction, like it was set up. It all made perfectly imperfect sense, but the one thing that he never found a link in the chain for was the black turtles.

“Does uh… does that turtle look a bit odd to you guys?” Wirt asked his friends nervously.

“Wirt, it’s dead; of course it looks weird.” Sara said.

“Come on, you guys, let's just go.”

Wirt, though a little frazzled from seeing a remnant of the unknown, tried to remain calm. It was just a black turtle after all, it's not impossible that they existed on this side of the wall. Besides, they were harmless. Just another little thing that didn't make sense to him.

Finally, the trio made it to the graveyard. They walked past the wrought iron fence into the desolate, dreary looking place, in search of somewhere they wouldn't be seen. After walking through gravestone after lonely gravestone, they sat down near the back wall - a place people rarely ever came.

Silently, Sara pulled an ouija board out of her backpack.

“Alright guys.” She said with a mischievous smirk. “Let's do this.”

“Are we really doing this?” Wirt asked, worriedly. “I mean, it's three in the morning and we’re alone at the graveyard, like, why should we tempt the fates, y’know?”

“Wiiiirt, you big baby.” Jason laughed.

“Yeah, c’mon, you wimp.” Sara teased playfully, lightly punching Wirt in the arm. “It's not like these things work anyway”

Wirt begrudgingly agreed as he placed his hand on the little plastic planchette along with the others.

“Oh spirits if you are here give us a sign,” Said Sara in an almost-too-exaggerated-to-be-serious voice.

“Yo we got any ghosts in this rave-yard?” Jason shouted after almost a minute of absolutely nothing happening but the three of them staring at the board.

Suddenly, the three of them heard something coming from over on the other side of the wall.

“Fuck.” Sara whispered. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.”

“It's the ghosts!!” Jason said quietly, his voice even shakier than usual.

Wirt froze. He knew exactly what kind of horrible creatures lived over the wall, and he shuddered at the thought of any of them crossing over. This couldn't possibly be happening… Could it?

The three of them sat huddled together, the boys both practically in Sara's lap. They heard the sound of footsteps coming from where the sound was, and whatever it was wasn't alone.

“Whelp, we’re done for.” Sara held onto both the boys’ arms for her life.

Slowly, two figures emerged out of the darkness, and what Wirt saw was the last thing he expected to see.

“Wirt?” Asked the taller of the figures, cautiously.

“B-b-beatrice?”


	3. An Impromptu Rendez-Vous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> these kids are just too awkward
> 
> (this chapters kinda short oops)

_**Beatrice** _

 

“Wirt” was all Beatrice was able to say, or even think.

Wirt. After that whole incident on her side of the wall, Beatrice was almost positive, absolutely certain, that she’d never see that dorky, insufferable, yet oddly endearing, boy ever again. Yet here she was, in some strange world she’d never known with some strange girl she’d never met and he was here. Wirt was here, along with two strangers, a girl and a boy. They were sitting on the ground in amongst many gravestones, mouths agape and faces gone pale. Beatrice could only imagine what she looked like at this point, messy hair, dress grass stained and muddy, and a shocked look on her face just like theirs.

“Beatrice… Y-you're… What are you…” Wirt was stumbling over his words, but Beatrice knew what he meant. He was completely and utterly confused, as was she.

“I ran off.” Beatrice finally said, interrupting Wirt in his state of trying to articulate something to say. “I got bored, I guess.”

That wasn't entirely a lie. She liked going on adventures, finding new places, discovering things. She was always coming up with places she hadn't yet explored in the woods, always leaving a little note to her mother, and if not her, to her younger brother James, the one out of her never ending array of siblings that she trusted the most, saying that she'd be back in time for dinner. This time, however, she left no note. The reason being that she wasn't entirely sure when she would get back, which rarely happened. She just up and left this time, because she was on a mission.

She wanted to find Wirt and Greg.

“Beatrice how - what - I uh - wow um, I uh didn't think I'd ever see you again” Wirt stuttered as he shakily got up from Sara's lap and walked towards the two girls, leaving a completely perplexed Jason and Sara behind him.

“It's nice to see you too, loser.” Beatrice smirked, trying to make it seem like she had confidence in talking to him, but in reality she was sweating bullets and had to constantly wipe her hands on the sides of her dress.

“Lorna's with you, too? I, uh, didn't know you two knew each other.” Wirt glanced back toward the other girl, who waved shyly and tucked a few strands of jet black hair behind her ear.

“We don't. Well, we didn't, anyways.” Beatrice told him, trying her best to maintain her fake smile. “We kinda just met on our way here, wherever here is, anyway.”

“Well, I guess it's good to see you again.” Wirt said with a nervous chuckle.

“Okay… Wait a second,” Sara interrupted. “What the hell is going on?!” She asked as she stood up, leaving a terrified Jason alone sitting on the ground.

“This is awkward.” Wirt cringed. “Uh, remember on Halloween when Greg and I-”

Sara nodded.

“Well we weren't in a coma - at least I don't think we were because I mean, look, there real!” Wirt awkwardly pointed in the direction of Lorna and Beatrice, and Sara immediately caught on.

“So... what Greg was talking about what happened-”

“Actually happened” Wirt finished   
in the hospital about all that magic stuff… Wasn't just out of shock from falling in the river?” Sara asked.

“Nope,” Wirt shrugged.

“My name’s Beatrice, by the way.” Beatrice introduced herself, still keeping that confident tone of voice. “And this is Lorna.” She gestured to the other girl, who timidly gave a little wave.

“I'm Sara, and that loser over there,” Sara gestured towards Jason, still quivering on the grass. “Is Jason.”

“H-hi…” Jason said as he grinned awkwardly.

Suddenly, something clicked in Beatrice’s mind.

“So, this is is the Jason Funderberker and Sara.” Beatrice grinned, teasingly. “Man, I never thought I'd meet you two. Jason Funderberker and Sara.” Beatrice said with a smirk, more to Wirt than the two others.

“Shut up,” Wirt said through clenched teeth.

“You told her about us?” Jason asked as he stood up shakily.

“Well of course he did! In fact, he told me just how much he hated-”

“B-beatrice! That was months ago! Can you just shut up about it?”

Beatrice laughed quietly at Wirt’s defensiveness, not to mention his embarrassment. It was nice to be reunited an old friend, she thought. She got to tease him again and he got to get mad at her again, just like old times.

Old times. The times when she had been so ready to give them up to Adelaide, and the very moment when she realized that her whole deal was wrong. It was when she realized that they really weren't useless, and that they had a home and a family and lives back at home, with people who would miss them, wondering where they had ended up.

“Um, pardon me,” Said Lorna, interrupting Beatrice’s trip down memory lane “But where are Beatrice and I going to be staying tonight?”

“I guess you could stay at my place.” Said Wirt awkwardly.

“Dude, are you kidding? Your mom and stepdad would never let you have two girls they've never met stay over!” Sara pointed out. “You guys could stay at my place, we have a ton of extra bedrooms and my parents totally wouldn't mind.”

“Sara, are you sure?” Said Wirt “You barely know these girls! They could be... serial killers for all you know!”

“Wirt I’m not an idiot and neither are you! They're your friends right?”

Wirt nodded.

“Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine! Come on, you guys, let's head out!” Said Sara as she walked in the direction of the cemetery entrance.

“Goodnight, Wirt. It's so nice to see you once again.” Lorna said politely with a little smile as she followed Sara.

Beatrice stood there for a second with Wirt not knowing what to do. She turned to follow the girls, when she was stopped by Wirt

“Hey.” He said placing a hand tentatively on Beatrice’s shoulder. “Its uh, its nice to see you again. I- uh… I missed you.”

“I missed you too, dork.” Beatrice smiled as she reached over to hug the boy, and at last, the pilgrim and the bluebird were reunited once more.


End file.
